There is an article in the August 28th edition of Foreign Policy Journal entitled, “US Preparing for a Post-Israel Middle East.” The source for the leaked document described in the article is referred to as a Central Intelligence Agency staffer, and the document was allegedly commissioned by the US Intelligence Community, comprised of all four branches of the military, the Coast Guard, the Departments of State, Treasury, the Drug Enforcement Agency, the FBI, the National Security Agency and the Ministry of Magic. Just kidding about that last one.

The document allegedly reveals that the CIA has concluded that tiny Israel is the greatest threat on the face of the Earth to the interests of the United States.

What? Is the article credible? Is anyone paying attention to it?

Franklin Lamb with Hezbollah mortars in Lebanon.

Well, the truth is that few serious people are paying attention to it. Nevertheless, the title of the article, and the general uneasiness felt by the strongly pro-Israel crowd about this US administration’s support for Israel, has kept the article skimming along on the Internet waves. It has bobbled to the surface every so often and continues being swept forward in a gush of email distribution lists.

Why does the article not pass the smell test? The problems are manifest: the way the scenario is written, the author, the lack of sources, the litany of over-the-top accusations against Israel, and the poor writing and editing. For that last problem, just read the article.

What the author does is not use his article to reveal the existence of the Post-Israel World document, but instead skips right over the veracity step and goes on to suggest that the document will be used by right wing Republicans to scare Jews into voting against President Obama. That’s clever.

The article states that Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fl), chairwoman of the US House Foreign Affairs Committee, with an assist by William Kristol, editor of The Weekly Standard, will be using the CIA document to frighten Jews into believing president Obama is bad for Israel, and that the Republican party is their only hope.

What is in the alleged report? Just about every anti-Israel canard of recent vintage, but stated as fact:

– Israel is an Apartheid State with a “segregationist, occupation infrastructure” of “legalized discrimination” and “separate and unequal justice systems”

– the current Israeli government is completely aligned with the “illegal” settlers who are “violent racists” who kill and brutalize ‘Palestinians’

– Israel interferes with the “internal affairs of the United States through spying and illegal arms transfers,” by use of “more than 60 front organizations” and “approximately 7,500 US officials” who are controlled by the Jewish State.

The drafters allegedly note that not only Jews in the United States, but also the entire rest of the world, now find they can no longer countenance their entanglement with the illegal Israeli regime which “condemns American citizens to endure the consequences” of that entanglement. Just for good measure, the document allegedly recommends that the United States undertake to repair “relations with Arab and Muslim countries,” including the reduction in use of drone aircraft.

It is difficult to take the article seriously both because of the excessive number of misspellings and poor editing, the lowly regard with which the publication is held (although easily confused with, it is not the influential Foreign Policy magazine), and because of the author, Franklin Lamb.

A pro-Israel blogger pointed out that Lamb has written before about the impending disappearance of Israel, also by suggesting he had access to secret CIA documents. Another time Lamb insisted there was a burgeoning and irreparable rift between the United States and Israel.

And there is much more to hoist the eyebrows. Lamb’s inconsistent biographies at various times state that he has been a professor at the American University of Beirut, has three degrees, including a PhD, from the London School of Economics, had a fellowship at the Harvard East Asian Legal Studies, was Assistant Counsel of the US House Judiciary Committee, was a Professor of International Law at Northwestern College of Law in Oregon, is board member of the Sabra and Shatilla Foundation, and was a volunteer with the Palestine Civil Rights Campaign, Lebanon.

About the Author:Lori Lowenthal Marcus is the US correspondent for The Jewish Press. She is a recovered lawyer who previously practiced First Amendment law and taught in Philadelphia-area graduate and law schools. You can reach her by email: Lori@JewishPressOnline.com

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Many of us here in the US fear that Obama will take sides with the anti-Israel forces and may use any excuse near our election time to create an incident that will divert attention from the issues affecting us today.
Personally I feel that Romney elected president would be the best safeguard for Israel.

Miss Lowenthal alarms us without giving us sufficient facts to determine.
for ourselves the information:
1. Where is the article posted so that we can read it?
2. Is the staffer credible, really works for the CIA, and has any of this.
information been checked?
3. How can we verify that all these military agencies have agreed upon.
the document?
4. What are the inconsistencies that Miss Lowenthal says exists in Lamb's credentials. She lists information Lamb claims as his credentials but does not.
give one fact to dispute any of his positions.

This is story telling which alarms and if believable is truly alarming. But what
credibility can we attach to Miss Lowenthal's story without seeing the.
article, finding out who wrote the article, and having someone in government.
verify that his is a present Government/ military position.
Has anyone confronted the Obama administration about this article which.
appears to be a position paper for our military.

Someone out there including Miss Lowenthal please provide some answers.

The meme that Israel's existence is counter to US interests in the Middle East was first posed by the State Department back in the 1940s. The State Department then saw Israel as a quasi-ally of the USSR and an impediment to US access to Arab petroleum. While the former never proved true, the latter view still persists despite the fungibility of petroleum sources. Moreover, now that the US is on the cusp of energy independence from non-North American energy, that reasoning can be disregarded. However, now the excuse for letting Israel fall is that if the US backs Israel, it will be subject to terrorism. That is another specious argument, because we will be subject to terrorism whether or not Israel exists. Lastly, there would be a tremendous loss of credibility for the US if it were to let Israel be defeated by Iran and its allies. No country would ever again trust the US with long term security matters.

"The State Department then saw Israel as a quasi-ally of the USSR and an impediment to US access to Arab petroleum."

Indeed Truman gave Israel *de facto* recognition over the strong objections of his State and Defense Secretaries. (Thank you, Ed Jacobson and Clark Clifford!) Israel could have been an ally of the USSR — remember that Stalin gave Israel *de jure* recognition before the US did, that Mapam was essentially a Communist party, and that Eisenhower was openly hostile to Israel. But Stalin was an anti-Semite and he and his successors figured they could get more mileage out of stoking Arab hatred, while Eisenhower's successors changed US policy from hostility to friendship. Israel is now, for the first time ever, America's most important ally in the region as the result of the implosion of Greece and the turn of Turkey away from the West (partly as the result of European anti-Muslim bigotry).

BTW while I don't find Lamb credible on his main points, regarding Ayn Rand and Paul Ryan, he is 100% correct. How so many religious people can be supporting someone whose philosophy comes from the 20th century's most notorious atheist hedonist is beyond me.

If he is "allowing" such, why is Iran's economy currently being destroyed by the most draconian sanctions any country has faced since World War II. It is actually obvious that President Obama is doing everything short of war to stop Iran. The only question is whether the US, Israel, or both will start a war. I don't know about Israel but there is at the moment zero support in the US for Yet Another War, and besides the Republicans would block the funding (taxes and borrowing) for such.

Ms. Landizburg – very good, you have raised all the right questions, none of which Lamb answers, which is why the article is so questionable. We don't know anything about the alleged staffer who is the source for the document described in Lamb's article, we don't know whether such a document exists, and we don't know whether the different agencies listed in his article have agreed to the conclusions he claims they have (although we can assume the Ministry of Magic has not). We can tell where Lamb's articles have appeared and where he has been a commentator, but there are no independent bases for his academic pedigrees, so we don't know whether those are accurate either. In short, too little verifiable about too huge and horrible a conclusion to have been made. That's the point of my article. We agree, even if you didn't want to.

Forget that, how do so many supposedly good Christians abhor publicly the notion of government caring for the sick, the downtrodden, etc.? It always baffles me. I think the U.S. was loved around the world because it was the kindest occupying force wherever it did war (with noted exceptions, when it overstayed its welcome). But Bush 2 turned it all around. And Obama doesn't have the guts or the will to do better.

The Philippines were a notable exception — its suppression of the independence movement was quite brutal. Hundreds of thousands of Filipinos died.

And just to show an example of how arrogant the US was, President McKinley talked about the need to "Christianize" the Filipinos. Never mind that there were cathedrals in the Philippines before the first English settlement at Jamestown.

Charlie Hall "It is actually obvious that President Obama is doing everything short of war to stop Iran. " Obvious for fools and knaves. Why did he give countless exemptions to all and sundry – some 20 nations altogether – off his "draconian" sanctions??? Idiot!

You obviously have no idea how difficult it is to get the entire world to agree to sanctions. The choice was to allow some limited exemptions or the other countries would have ignored the sanctions entirely. The sanctions ARE working.

What would YOU do to countries that violate the sanctions? Invade them?

It is nice to see that the Jewish population would rather maintain their viability as sheep being led. How does it feel to be weak, with no leadership, and just stand in line to get your marching orders from the Democrat leadership? You are repeating your history. How many time in the history of the Jewish faith have they stood following one Master then stand as men and women on their own.
Remember the blacks in this nation and what the Democrats have done for them. Highest murder rate in the nation, lowest education levels in the nation, highest birth rates amongst teenagers and highest birth rates amongst single women. Highest unemployment in every measurable category, lowest wages in every category, highest drug usage per capita. The dire list of what the humanitarian and sensitive Democrat party has done to blacks goes on and on.
Intriguing that David Harris says this trend began in the 1920s. That was when the Democrat controlled KKK was hanging Jews wasn't it? When the Jews were swinging from the trees what benefit was that to the Jewish people Mr. Hall? Seems that the Jews worldwide embraced many hideous political parties in the 1920s and 1930s and went meekly along as sheep.
So I have a question why should Republicans ever again embrace or defend Jews or Israel? You proudly say how Jews have always been there for the Democrats. You give them or raise millions upon millions of dollars for the Democrats. You vote in overwhelming numbers for them. When the next Republican President takes office tell me why we should give American treasure, blood or anything else for Israel? You sit with an arrogance and hubris that you are better then Republicans. That you are more sophisticated, more knowledgeable, better at everything then Republicans.
Mr. Hall forgets Richard Nixon during the Yom Kippur war when the Israeli Army was stretched to the breaking point and the Soviets were loading 17,000 Paratroopers and Assault forces to travel and fight with the Arabs. Nixon sent a brief leader to Brezhnev saying the US would use any and all power we have including nuclear to make sure that Israel did not fail. The Soviets and their clients the Arabas stood down.
Mr. Hall just remember when the Democrats enter the room to stand and bow. Remember when they say jump the only response you give is how high, master, how high?

American Jews remind me of the Southern poor whites I knew growing up in the segregated South of the 1950s. No matter how shabbily they were treated by the Democratic party, they always voted for the guy with the "D" after his name. Even as a kid I found that crazy.

There was no sense to it. During the Depression, the Deep South was by far and above the country's poorest region. Yet FDR's New Deal programs spent two or three times as much per capita in relatively well-off western states such as Colorado than they did in the South. Why? Because those western states often voted Republican, and FDR wanted to buy their votes with tax money.

The South, on the other hand, always voted Democrat, much like today's Jews. In the case of FDR in 1936, their vote went for him was often over 90%. FDR could screw them with impunity. No amount of abuse or neglect by the Democrat party could shake that loyalty. Are you seeing the parallel?

In the case of the South, there was at least the race factor and the Southern poor white's hatred for his poor black neighbors. That is why FDR was extremely careful to never do anything about segregation and lynching, despite all the nagging from his wife. Bigotry addles the mind and makes people stupid. It makes them vote Democratic.

What is the comparable issue with Jews? Are American Jews still trapped in the world so brilliantly portrayed by the movie Gentleman's Agreement? Do they still hate the Republican party because of their great grandparents anger at a few 'white shoe' upperclass, east coast, establishment Republicans who kept them out of elite clubs, resorts, and universities some seventy years and more ago? I suspect they are.

If so, then American Jews are even stupider than the poor whites of my youth. At least by voting Democrat, those poor white did get slightly better jobs and schools than the black poor. White supremacy did have its benefits, however mediocre.

American Jews, on the other hand, get nothing for their antiquated anti-Republican bigotry. They get kicked around by Democrats. They get ignored in issues that matter to them. They even get excluded from terrorist conferences. With Obama they even get a dismal economy in which to make their living.

Somehow, to my amazement, the South has fixed most of its bigotry issues. I wonder if the American Jewish community with ever fix its bigotry? I see no evidence that they will. The hatred goes on and on, passed from father to son and mother to daughter.

–Michael W. Perry, editor of Chesterton on War and Peace: Battling the Ideas and Movements that Led to Nazism and World War II, as well as Dachau Liberated.

This Mid-East<>Israel controversy has been exploited to unrestrained note. Anything goes here, it all boils down to the verity of every Biblical verse: Israel the cup of trembling for the people around it; Jerusalem the burdensome stone for all people, all that burden themselves with it shall be grievously hurt… These issues are simply the tip of the icing, the main context is ingrained in time and space, no amount of resolve suffices, focus of remedy is spiritual. One can't credibly dish out acceptable rhetorics against Israel and Jerusalem apart from Biblical references. Franklin Lamb, the Hizbollah, Hamas, Iran, intimidated allies-cum-non-committal, choler adversaries et al had been prophesied and judged, will savor Divine judgment. Israel will be preserved. Israel's history and eternal future is inseparable from the Holy Scriptures.

Many of us here in the US fear that Obama will take sides with the anti-Israel forces and may use any excuse near our election time to create an incident that will divert attention from the issues affecting us today.
Personally I feel that Romney elected president would be the best safeguard for Israel.

Miss Lowenthal alarms us without giving us sufficient facts to determine.
for ourselves the information:
1. Where is the article posted so that we can read it?
2. Is the staffer credible, really works for the CIA, and has any of this.
information been checked?
3. How can we verify that all these military agencies have agreed upon.
the document?
4. What are the inconsistencies that Miss Lowenthal says exists in Lamb’s credentials. She lists information Lamb claims as his credentials but does not.
give one fact to dispute any of his positions.

This is story telling which alarms and if believable is truly alarming. But what
credibility can we attach to Miss Lowenthal’s story without seeing the.
article, finding out who wrote the article, and having someone in government.
verify that his is a present Government/ military position.
Has anyone confronted the Obama administration about this article which.
appears to be a position paper for our military.

Someone out there including Miss Lowenthal please provide some answers.

The meme that Israel’s existence is counter to US interests in the Middle East was first posed by the State Department back in the 1940s. The State Department then saw Israel as a quasi-ally of the USSR and an impediment to US access to Arab petroleum. While the former never proved true, the latter view still persists despite the fungibility of petroleum sources. Moreover, now that the US is on the cusp of energy independence from non-North American energy, that reasoning can be disregarded. However, now the excuse for letting Israel fall is that if the US backs Israel, it will be subject to terrorism. That is another specious argument, because we will be subject to terrorism whether or not Israel exists. Lastly, there would be a tremendous loss of credibility for the US if it were to let Israel be defeated by Iran and its allies. No country would ever again trust the US with long term security matters.

This Mid-EastIsrael controversy has been exploited to unrestrained note. Anything goes here, it all boils down to the verity of every Biblical verse: Israel the cup of trembling for the people around it; Jerusalem the burdensome stone for all people, all that burden themselves with it shall be grievously hurt… These issues are simply the tip of the icing, the main context is ingrained in time and space, no amount of resolve suffices, focus of remedy is spiritual. One can’t credibly dish out acceptable rhetorics against Israel and Jerusalem apart from Biblical references. Franklin Lamb, the Hizbollah, Hamas, Iran, intimidated allies-cum-non-committal, choler adversaries et al had been prophesied and judged, will savor Divine judgment. Israel will be preserved. Israel’s history and eternal future is inseparable from the Holy Scriptures.